Kevin Bronson on March 5th, 2023

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Since their circa-2014 recordings (now scraped from the interwebs), L.A. quintet Draag have evolved from mere wall-of-sound noisemakers to purveyors of something more nuanced, though still rooted in ’80s/’90s psychedelia and shoegaze. It’s exemplified by the new single “Mitsuwa,” which is more narcotic dream-pop than feedback fetish.

It’s Draag’s first new music since their “Clara Luz” EP three years ago and introduces the band’s new album, “Dark Fire Heresy,” out April 28.

The new song, named for Torrance’s Mitsuwa Japanese market and triggered by a trip that Huang and her grandparents made there just before the COVID-19 lockdown, reflects on religious trauma. The video, directed by Devonte Johnson and Huang, explores the notion more fully.

“The process of making the music video was a way for me to indulge in what used to be forbidden, but that I inherently loved as a child — the goth aesthetic, Buddhist altars and traditions that the video touches on,” Huang says. “As I discussed the concept with friends, strangers and collaborators, I was so unaware of how many still struggle with religious trauma and how similar our experiences are.”

||| Watch: The video for “Mitsuwa”

||| Live: Draag opens for Airiel and Deserta on March 16 at the Lodge Room (tickets). They also perform along with Cryogeyser on June 17 at the Echo (tickets TBA).

||| Previously: Quarantunes, “Ghost Leak,” “Lavender Hole,”